Key

In the field of cryptography, a key is defined as a piece of data that specifies the functional results of a particular cryptographic algorithm. Without the presence of a key, an algorithm is deemed powerless regardless of it’s strength. In the process of encryption, it specifies the conversion of plaintext into ciphertext, a scrambled version of the data that makes it unreadable to intruders. In the long-time pad system, a key is required to be at least the same length as the message. Systems that utilize a cipher algorithm allow messages to be longer than the key. In either instance, it must be long enough to prevent hackers from using brute force and attempting all probable combinations. 80 bits is typically considered to be the minimum length for solid security in symmetric algorithms. 128-bit keys are being used more often as they provide greater protection. A key may also be used in other cryptographic algorithms such as message authentication and digital signature schemes.